Support NeoGAF

[flawfuls]

It seems that most people aren't aware of the huge amount of quality manga available so I figured I would make a list to help show people what is out there. All of these are at least partly available in English, but some are only available via scanlation. I've shown which ones are licensed in English so please buy what you can.

If there is anything you feel is missing just tell me and I'll add it.

So everyone go look at the list read what looks interesting and post your impressions in the Manga Thread (which isn't just for weekly shounen manga!).

Other Recommendations

Basara
Kodomo no Omocha
Kare Kano
Kenji
Afterschool Charisma
Eden
Guyver
Gokusen
Not Simple
Inugami
Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei
Five Star Stories
Rokudenashi Blues
Crows
Worst
Adventures of Young Det
Suikoden III
Gyo
Museum Of Terror
Inugami
Kaiji
Akagi
Ten - Tenna Toori no Kaidanji
Gambling Emperor Zero
Buraiden Gai
Seizon - Life
Detroit Metal City
Amanchu
World Embryo
Franken Fran
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
River's Edge
Ikigami
Monster Collector
My Year
Team Medical Dragon
Emma
Otoyomegatari
Shirley
Tokyo Zombie
Keiko Ichiguchi America
Saint Young Men
Blade of the Immortal
Mahoraba
Shigurui
King of Thorn
Chatting over at the Amber Teahouse
2001 Nights
Drifting Classroom
Love Roma
Banana Fish
Phoenix
Shadow Star
Subaru


Witches by Daisuke Igarashi

A wildly imaginitive trek into the deepest realms of human beliefs and the mysteries of the universe. Daisuke Igarashi's amazing pen can recreate anything he can imagine on paper, resulting in beautifully chaotic, maddeningly detailed scrawls of pure wonder. A true celebration of the human imagination.

When deep emotions come to the head, the witch that dwells in the heart awakens - the gorgeous and literary illusory tales begin.

Witches won the Excellence Prize in the Manga Division at Japan Media Arts Festival in 2004.

Children of the Sea by Daisuke Igarashi (Licensed)

One summer vacation, Ruka meets two boys, "Umi" and "Sora," whose upbringing contains strange and wonderful secrets. Drawn to their beautiful swimming, almost more like flying, Ruka and the adults who know them are intertwined in a complex mesh...
Meanwhile, an unexplained anomaly is occurring all over the world: fish are disappearing. Thus begins a marine adventure of boys and girls to captivate all the senses!

Children of the Sea won the Excellence Prize in the Manga Division at Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009.

Hanashippanashi by Daisuke Igarashi

A collection of short stories about supernatural occurrences that take place in our everyday

Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano

Witness the titular Punpun - who is depicted as a tiny, caricatured bird in an otherwise normal human setting - as he copes with his dysfunctional family and friends, his love interest, his oncoming adolescence and his hyperactive mind.

Solanin by Inio Asano (Licensed)

Slice of life with a young couple, Inoue Meiko and Taneda Shigeo, and how everyday occurrences affect their lives. Meiko begins contemplating whether freedom without purpose is really the same thing as boredom. This is a retelling of a very common real life situation, perhaps enjoyable for an older fanbase. Art is different, there are no anime-esque deformations here.

Nominated in 2009 for the Eisner Award Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan. Nominated for the 2009 Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material.

Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano

Suzuki is a troubled boy. He's lived with uncaring foster parents for most of his life, alienated from the other kids at his school, owner of a cynical, unhappy mentality. Komatsuzaki is a violent, unpredictable bully whose head trauma causes him to act in mysterious, inexplicable ways. Arakawa is a no-nonsense, normal girl who pines after Komatsuzaki but can never have him. A teacher with just one working eye. A mother who committed suicide. A daughter in an endless coma. Attempted rapes, murders, extortion, sexual deviance, and a freakish explosion in the butterfly population. All of these elements are whirled together in a story spanning 10 years, a tale of blackness, pain, and apocalypse. And maybe just a bit of hope and redemption. It's a spiritual cross between the misanthropic suburban malevolence of Kyoko Okazaki's Rivers Edge and the eerie mysticality of Donnie Darko.

What a Wonderful World by Inio Asano (Licensed)

Being his first series, What a Wonderful World remains Asano’s most representative and successful work to date.

Composed of vignettes from the daily lives of a group of people inhabiting an ordinary neighborhood somewhere in Tokyo, the series is actually a comment about modern life itself and how we can survive in it despite all its rigors.

Amusing, melancholic, funny, strange, thought-provoking—Asano effortlessly shifts from one mood to another, creating stories and characters that are profoundly human and thus always involving. It’s a shame that not everyone will find the subjects the author describes equally appealing since some of them are distinctly Japanese. But overall, it’s a great collection that any discerning manga reader should check out.

Tekkonkinkreet by Taiyo Matsumoto (Licensed)

Orphaned on the mean streets of Treasure Town, lost boys Black and White must mug, steal and fight to survive. Around them moves a world of corruption and loneliness, small-time crooks and neurotic police officers, and a band of sadistic yakuza who have plans for their once-fair city. Can they rise above their environment?

Ping Pong by Taiyo Matsumoto

Ping pong. Table tennis. Fast, furious. You might have seen it, even played it, but you've never seen it like this! The action centers around "Smile" Tsukimoto and "Peco" Hoshino, two high school students in the midst of adolescence and out to prove they've got what it takes in the cool, cruel world of sports.

Hanaotoko by Taiyo Matsumoto

Shigeo is a high strung elementary school student living with his mother. His only concern is getting ahead in life by doing well in school. He despises his father Hanao (who is separated from them), who's an idealistic free spirit and a kid at heart, infatuated with the sport of baseball. Shigeo's mother forces Shigeo to take time to visit his father, and so begins Shigeo's lessons that there's more to life than excelling academically (courtesy of his very childish father).

Takemitsu-Zamurai by Taiyo Matsumoto

Early one New Year's morning, the ronin Senou Souichirou shows up in the Katagi tenements in Edo. He is a suspicious figure. Kankichi, the carpenter's son, thinks he may not be human. But soon enough he has pawned his sword, and settled down into the life of the community.

All is well for a time. Only troubles will not leave the Katagi tenements alone ...

Gogo Monster by Taiyo Matsumoto (Licensed)

The emotional tale of a young boy's overactive imagination during school.
Taiyo Matsumoto drew this completely on his own, and released it as a standalone volume, rather than having it serialised in a manga anthology.

Japan Tengu Party Illustrated by Iou Kuroda

A tengu is an utterly proud and arrogant creature (so much that the Japanese saying, "to become a tengu," means to preen conceitedly) that is said to steal young children away from their homes. In this story, the fractured and disgraced remnants of the tengu species come together from all over the country to rise up, reclaim their pride, and rule over the nation of Japan, as is their right. What kind of effect will the "Tengu Party" have on the humans of Japan, and more importantly, what exactly makes a tengu?

Sexy Voice and Robo by Iou Kuroda (Licensed)

She calls herself Sexy Voice. To most of the world, she's just Hayashi Niko, an ordinary schoolgirl - but when time permits, she lives a double life as a hired investigator/spy. To help her, she has recruited the rather unlikely assistant she calls Robo, a geeky lump of a man who doesn't really know why he feels the need to do everything she tells him to. He just does it. Together, the odd team solve a number of cases for Sexy Voice's employer, an aging gangster.

Nasu by Iou Kuroda

Short stories all related through a common medium: Eggplant.

MW by Osamu Tezuka (Licensed)

Gurai is a Japanese Catholic Priest, who is unable to give up his lifelong sexual relationship with Yuki, a beautiful and sadistic young master criminal. Yuki's malicious crimes have become more and more extreme over the years, claiming many innocent lives, and Gurai is tormented by guilt at his inability to stop them

Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka (Licensed)

Two young doctors, the passionate and well-liked Osanai and the ambitious Tatsugaura, are both investigating the mysterious 'Monmo' disease, found only in one remote village, which causes bizarre bone deformation, making its victims take on a beastlike appearance before their deaths. Osanai, caught between the allure of his urban medical world and the rural peace offered by the remote village, does his best to help the victims retain their humanity in the face of a medical establishment which views them only as guinea pigs and oddities. Meanwhile, Tatsugaura schemes against Osanai and tries to infect his rival with the disease in order to gain fame from researching the results.

Buddha by Osamu Tezuka (Licensed)

The complete biography of Buddha, as seen by Osamu Tezuka.
Received the Bungei Shunju Manga Award in 1975 and ended in 1984.

Freesia by Jiro Matsumoto

Freesia is set in an alternative Japanese society that is at war, and has passed a law legalizing retaliatory killings. If somebody kills your loved one, you are legally sanctioned to kill, or hire someone to kill, the victimizer. The manga is set around a character who works for a firm that specializes in these retaliatory killings.

Tropical Citron by Jiro Matsumoto

A coming-of-age story about a young, aspiring photographer named Soma. He's going nowhere, stuck in a mire of sex and drugs, until a horrible end to a one night stand sets him on a path that changes his life forever.

Uncivilized Planet by Jiro Matsumoto

From Jiro Matsumoto (the author of Freesia) comes a story of three childhood friends - Nicolo, Cookie, and Naomi - who grew up in a sleepy backwater town on an uncivilized planet. They struggle to get by while holding on to their dreams of leaving town and finding a better life... but can their friendship endure the tests of time? Can it withstand invading armies, broken dreams, conflicting ambitions, divided loyalties, jealousy, and even betrayal?.

Touch/Rough/H2/Katsu/Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi (Cross Game is Licensed)

Adachi's manga all pretty much follow the same basic formula with a nice blend of sports, romance and comedy.

Real by Takehiko Inoue (Licensed)

The story revolves around three teenagers: Nomiya Tomomi, a high school dropout; Togawa Kiyoharu, an ex-sprinter who now plays wheelchair basketball; and Takahashi Hisanobu, a popular leader of the high school's basketball team who now finds himself a paraplegic after an accident.

Real features a cast of characters who find themselves being marginalized by society, but are all united by one common feature: a desire to play basketball, with no place to play it in. Nomiya, being a high school dropout, has no future in his life. Togawa, being a difficult personality, finds himself constantly feuding with his own teammates. Takahashi, once a popular team leader, now finds himself being unable to move from the chest down.

Real also deals with the reality of physical disabilities, and the psychological inferiority that the characters struggle against. The characters break through their own psychological barriers bit by bit.

Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue and Eiji Yoshikawa (Licensed)

Striving for enlightenment by way of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi is prepared to cut down anyone who stands in his way. Vagabond is an action-packed portrayal of the life and times of the quintessential warrior-philosopher—one of the most celebrated samurai of all time!

Vagabond portrays a fictionalized account of Miyamoto Musashi's life, on a loose adaptation of Eiji Yoshikawa's novel "Musashi".

Vagabond won the Grand Prize for manga at the 2000 Japan Media Arts Festival. The same year, Vagabond won the 24th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category. Vagabond also received the highly-acclaimed Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002.

Monster by Urasawa Naoki (Licensed)

Monster weaves the riveting story of brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a famous surgeon with a promising career at a leading hospital. Tenma risks his reputation and promising career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy. Unbeknownst to him, this child is destined for a terrible fate. A string of strange and mysterious murders begin to occur soon afterward, ones that professionally benefit Dr. Tenma, and he emerges as the primary suspect. Conspiracies, serial murders, and a scathing depiction of the underbelly of hospital politics are all masterfully woven together in this compelling manga thriller.

The series won an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival and the Shogakukan Manga Award in 2001.

20th Century Boys/21th Century Boys by Urasawa Naoki (Licensed)

Growing older is pretty rough and Kenji is finding out just how hard it can be as life starts wearing down on him. On top of trying to make ends meet running a convenience store, he has to care for the niece that his missing sister left in his care. Memories of youth make it easier, until those memories come back to haunt you.

Kenji and his old friends are slowly being drawn into a mysterious conspiracy that could threaten the world. Who is the mysterious "friend", and how does he tie into Kenji's youth? Why are there disappearances and deaths tied into Ochanomizu University? The friend's memories hold the keys to the puzzle, but years between cloud the clues.

The strange occurances and the reach of the "friend" conspiracy grow by the day. It will all culminate on New Year's Eve 2000. Will Kenji and the rest of the group be able to put together the puzzle and save the world?

20th Century Boys won the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award in the General category, an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival, and the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category.

Pluto by Urasawa Naoki (Licensed)

A murder occurs without any trace of human beings, and with only a mysterious message remaining. What will follow!? Two great Japanese manga artists come together to make this near-future science-fiction suspense manga!!

Pluto received an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival. The series also received the 2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize.

Billy Bat by Urasawa Naoki

Billy Bat is a comic-in-a-comic and the real protagonist is a Japanese-American artist named Kevin Yamagata who draws Billy Bat for "Marble Comics".

Shortly after they transition to the artist in his studio with his assistant, two actual detectives, who look like Laurel and Hardy in Dick Tracy era suits and trench coats, knock on the door and appropriate Kevin's room for the purpose of conducting surveillance on a room in an adjacent building. One of the detectives, the skinny “Laurel”, sees Kevin's work and it turns out he's a Billy Bat fan. The other chubby "Hardy" detective picks up a page and says that the characters look familiar and accuses Kevin of translating an old "Jap" comic.

As Hardy remembers the comic he thinks Kevin is ripping off, we make another Urasawaesque time jump to 1949 Tokyo and the chapter ends.

Takehiko Inoue, Mitsuru Adachi and Urasawa Naoki are pretty well known, but they're awesome so I listed them anyways.

 

[flawfuls]

Historie by Hitoshi Iwaaki

Historie takes place in ancient Greece and follows the life of Eumenes and his childhood, who would later in his life grow up to be the secretary and general to Alexander the Great.

Historie was a finalist for the 10th Osamu Tezuka Culture Award.

Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki (Licensed)

They arrive in silence and darkness. They descend from the skies. They have a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere. They are parasites, alien creatures who must invade - and take control of - a human host to survive. And once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose: monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, creatures with blades for hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret - except an ordinary high school student. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?

Won the Seiun Award in 1996.

Dorohedoro by Q. Hayashida (Licensed)

In a city so dismal it’s known only as “the Hole,” a clan of sorcerers have been plucking people off the streets to use as guinea pigs for atrocious “experiments” in the black arts. In a dark alley, Nikaido found Caiman, a man with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. To undo the spell, they’re hunting and killing the sorcerers of the Hole, hoping that eventually they’ll kill the right one. But when En, the head sorcerer, gets word of a lizard–man slaughtering his people, he sends a crew of “cleaners” into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.

Rideback by Tetsuro Kasahara

Set in 2020, Rideback tells the story of a college student named Rin Ogata and her "iron horse" robot motorcycle (rideback) called "Fuego", in a tumultuous time of anti-government student protests.

Sanctuary by Ryoichi Ikegami and Buronson (Licensed)

Two young men vow to transform the destiny of Japan, by any means. As children, they survived the horrors of the Cambodian killing fields together. Now, can they topple the leaders of both the Japanese Parliament and the yakuza crime syndicate?

Although cold and calculating when need be, Hojo and Asami exemplify the traits their colleagues lack: loyalty to friends, compassion for the downtroden...and an irresistible way with women.

Deputy Police Chief Ishihara sets out to expose their ingenious machinations, but instead falls helplessly in love with Hojo...

Shut Hell by Yu Itoh

Beginning of the 13th century.

In the days of old existed a woman warrior named Shut Hell, the Evil One, feared even by the Mongols, said to be the strongest army in history.

At first, she was just a normal Tangut's soldier frightened by the Mongol threat, but after coming close to death so many times, she found in herself a superhuman strength.

On the other side, a young Mongol prince, Yurul, is fascinated by the Tangut's, his enemies' writings, and is worried for the future....

Bambi and Her Pink Gun by Atsushi Kaneko

The word is out on the streets: a reward of five million dollars to the opportunist that wastes the courier calling herself Bambi and returns her living cargo. Chainsaw swinging psychos, gold-toothed Elvises, Derringer-packing grannies and all the other scum in these badlands could care less whether Bambi is kidnapping this toddler she christened "Pampi" or if she's snatching him back from his captors. With a pink gun in one hand, and a leashed Pampi in the other, can antihero Bambi's huge ego and formidable gun skills hold off an army?

Soil by Atsushi Kaneko

Something strange is going on in "Soil New Town." The sudden disappearance of a seemingly normal family leads the two detectives Yokoi and Onoda to the idyllic town in the middle of nowhere. What looks like a routine case at first quickly turns into a complex and deadly riddle where nothing is what it seems to be. Will the two disparate investigators manage to solve the mystery before it's too late?

Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura

Thorfinn is son to one of the Viking's greatest warriors, but when his father is killed in battle by the mercenary leader Askeladd, he swears his intent to have revenge. Thorfinn joins Askeladd's group in order to challenge him to a duel, and ends up caught in the middle of a war for the crown of England.

The series was nominated for the 2008 Manga Taisho award. In 2009, it was awarded the Grand Prize in the manga division of the Japan Media Arts awards.

Planetes by Makoto Yukimura (Licensed)

Haunted by a space flight accident that claimed the life of his beloved wife, Yuri finds himself six years later as part of a team of debris cleaners on a vessel called the Toy Box charged with clearing space junk from space flight paths. The team consists of Hachimaki, a hot shot debris-man with a sailor's affinity for the orbital ocean; Fee, a chain-smoking tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge; and Pops, a veteran orbital mechanic whose avuncular presence soothes the stress of the job.

Note: There are actually 5 volumes. The fifth was published as Volume 4: Part 2.

Won the Seiun Award in 2002.

Princess by Seung-Won Han (Licensed)

Princess is a very straight forward and sad series. This series is full of romance and politics. The background is an unknown medieval era where there are three countries. Among the three countries, there is an island country called "Ramira". The empire, Ramira, is where most of stories will unfold. There are generations of princesses, and the first 27 volumes set the story for the eventual regaining of Ramira by the greatest Empress of Ramira, Preia, who was beloved by the people and had many loyal men under her.

Homunculus by Hideo Yamamoto (Licensed)

Trepanation is the procedure of drilling a hole in the skull. It is said to increase the blood circulation and improve pressure inside the skull. It is also said to bring out a person's sixth sense, the ability to use ESP, see ghosts, move objects with one's mind. This is speculative fiction based on the concept of trepanation.

Ichi the Killer

In Shinjuku Kabuki-Cho, the biggest sin town in Japan, there are two crazy guys. Ichi is a coward and a wimp, but once he breaks into tears, he turns into a human weapon. With great martial arts skill and a blade hidden in his boots, he butchers a bunch of enemies into mincemeat in the blink of an eye. His arch enemy is Kakihara, a yakuza boss who's tired of everything, including himself. Only when he pierces, cuts, and burns his own and other people's bodies does he feel that he is alive.

Warning: Very graphic content.

Jiraishin by Tsutomu Takahasi (Licensed)

Kyoya Ida is a hard-nosed detective from the Shinjuku Police precient. He is known in the force as an unreasonable type who would use lethal force to solve cases, making him unpopular with the enlisted and high-ranking officers in the National Police Agency. Despite this fact, there are some in the force that admire Ida for his bravery and cleverness in using lethal force to solve criminal cases whenever legal means are met in a dead end.

Tetsuwan Girl by Tsutomu Takahasi

The year is 1949. Japan had been defeated in World War II and was occupied by Allied Forces consisting of American, Australian, British, Indian and New Zealander troops.

A young woman meets a young man. Both have lost everything because of the war. Tome Kano, a barmaid, lost everything during the war. Katsuya Ranzaki, a wealthy investor, lost everything for not going to war. The two are fed up with their lives and want to live "real lives" for once. Katsuya's starting up an all-girls baseball team with Tome on it allows them to do this. In this dramatic story, the dreams of a nation come alive. Through the determination and strength of Katsuya and Tome, girls baseball becomes a sensation, and Tome a superstar.

Dragon Head by Minetaro Mochizuki (Licensed)

In the horror of witnessing so many classmates perish before his eyes in a violent train wreck, Teru discovers two survivors in the tunnel: Ako and Nobuo. But salvation from this bloody carnage is far from their grasp. As they try to dig out from the wreck in order to come up with a plan to stay alive, the lack of light and food, combined with the stench of death and decay, will lead one member of the group down a dark and demented path. And with sudden, violent earthquakes shaking the tunnel, escaping to the outside world may lead them to an even greater danger...

Holyland by Kouji Mori

Yuu is a high school kid who doesn't really fit anywhere. To find a place he can belong, be accepted, he will do anything. However one thing leads to another and he is forced to fight to keep his place, his holyland.

Me and the Devil Blues by Akira Hiramoto (Licensed)

Legend has it that if you take your guitar and stand at a crossroads at the witching hour, the devil will appear. He'll grab your instrument, play a song, and hand it back to you. You'll walk away an expert bluesman, but you'll have to pay the price: your immortal soul.

Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga by Koji Aihara (Licensed)

RECONSIDERING YOUR CAREER OPTIONS?
Now you too can learn the secrets! This mock-instructional tome is actually a hilarious parody in graphic novel form of those books which seek to advise one "how to draw manga."

Now even a completely untalented, artistically uninclined novice such as yourself can learn what it takes to properly use a pen, create characters, license ancillary rights for anime and toy manufacturing, and become rich, famous, and sexually potent beyond your wildest dreams.

Push Man/Good-bye/Abandon the Old in Tokyo by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Licensed)

Oneshots created in 'gekiga' style.

Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Licensed)

AN EPIC MEMOIR FROM A MANGA MASTER
Over four decades ago, Yoshihiro Tatsumi expanded the horizons of comics storytelling by using the visual language of manga to tell gritty, literary stories about the private lives of everyday people. He has been called "the grandfather of Japanese alternative comics" and has influenced generations of cartoonists around the world. Now the visionary creator of "The Push Man and Other Stories" and "Good-bye" has turned his incisive, unflinching gaze upon himself. Over ten years in the making, "A Drifting Life" is Tatsumis' most ambitious, personal, and heart felt work: an autobiographical bildungsroman in comics form. Using his life long obsession with comics as a frame work, Tatsumi weaves a complex story that encompasses family dynamics, Japanese culture and history, first love, the intricacies of the manga industry, and most importantly, what it means to be an artist. Alternately humorous, enlightening, and haunting, this is the masterful summation of a fascinating life and a historic career.

Won the Grand Prize for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2009.

Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima (Licensed)

In the feudal era of Japan, Ogami Itto is the elite executioner for the Shogun until the ruthless Yagyu clan frames him in an attempt to gain the position. His name dishonored and his wife murdered, Itto and his infant son Daigoro wander Japan as assassin for hire Lone Wolf and Cub. Ultimately, Ogami Itto strives for revenge against the Yagyu clan.

The Hour of Mice by Kei Toume

Maki Takano and his three best friends Ryo, Natsume and Mei are students at a private academy for highly gifted children. Like all the other students of this isolated and heavily guarded school, they have never seen the outside world since they were brought to the school at the young age of three.
When a new female student named Kiriko Hinatsu arrives, Maki has the strange feeling that he has met her before. However, he seems to be the only person who can remember the girl. When he confronts her with his discovery, Kiriko reveals the unbelievable truth about their existence and the school they're attending.
Maki now has to decide: will he continue his school life or will he help Kiriko escape even if that means putting himself and his mental health at risk?

Ooku: The Inner Chamber by Fumi Yoshinaga (Licensed)

In an alternative timeline of feudal Japan, a strange disease that only affects men has caused a massive reduction of male population, thus women have to pick up men's jobs, changing the social structure. Now, after 80 years of the initial outbreak and current man:woman ratio of 1:4, Japan has become completely matriarchal, with women holding important political positions and men being their consort. Only the most powerful woman -- head of Tokugawa shogunate -- can keep a harem of handsome yet unproductive men, known as "Ooku."

Recipient of special prize at The Japanese Association of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy's fifth annual Sense of Gender awards (2005), Excellence Award for manga at Japan Media Arts Festival (2006), Grand Prize in Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize (2009), Tiptree Award (2010)

Nominated for the first annual Manga Taishō (2008).

Jabberwocky by Masato Hisa

One of the Japanese promos calls it "Da Vinci Code meets Jurassic Park".
I think that sums it up pretty nicely. It's got dinosaurs, spies, intrigue, action, and conspiracy, all rendered in lovely film noir-esque art with a little fan service cherry on top (Lily!).
And for the slightly geeky, it's got cool (and sometimes obscure) references to art, literature, film, history, science... you name it. Definitely a manga for adults!

Shin Angyo Onshi by Kyung-Il Yang

Based on historical setting of Korea during the Josun Age. Long ago, in Jushin, secret royal inspectors named "Angyo Onshi" wandered the country and restored the order. But now that Jushin is destroyed, only one is still wandering..

Eternal Sabbath by Fuyumi Souryo (Licensed)

Ryousuke Akiba calls himself ES, a code name taken from a mysterious scientific experiment. He possesses strange mental powers: he can enter people's minds, discover their darkest secrets, even rearrange their memories. Ryousuke is an enigmatic and dangerous creation, but is he the only one?

Cesare by Fuyumi Souryo

Bookish and naive, Angelo da Canossa is unprepared for life as a student in a university that hums with tension and intrigue in Renaissance Italy. Will his innocence remain intact when a chance encounter with the charismatic Cesare draws him ever deeper into the darker side of the Renaissance?

See you in Eden by Fuyumi Souryo

Oba Tamako tells of her time being at art high school.

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer by Satoshi Mizukami

The world is in mortal peril. Sir Noi Crezant, the Lizard Knight, has been sent to gain the aid of the great warrior Amamiya Yuuhi in hopes of finding the Princess Samidare and protecting the planet from the incredible 'Biscuit Hammer' poised to crack the Earth in two. Unfortunately Yuuhi wants no part of it, and the Princess doesn't prove to be the shining 'hero of justice' role model that Noi had hoped for.

 

[flawfuls]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki (Licensed)

Humanity, in its hubris, has precipitated a devastating environmental disaster. Flourishing industrial civilizations have been swallowed up by the Sea of Corruption, an enormous forest of fungi releases a miasma of poisonous spores into the air. Nausicaa, a compassionate young princess, and her allies battle to heal a wounded world and its inhabitants...

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms by Fumiyo Kouno (Licensed)

Part 1: Hiroshima, 1955. Ten years after the city was consumed by a scorching flash of light, a woman's soul is still deeply shaken by the earth-shattering explosion that devastated her home and changed her life forever...
A family from Hiroshima struggles to come to terms with their survival of the atomic bombing of their city. The protagonist is Minami Hirano, about 20 years of age.
Part 2: Set some decades later, the niece of Minami Hirano is bewildered by her father's mysterious disappearances. She and a friend follow him to discover what he is doing.

The main theme of this is historic manga concerns the question what impact the war and the atomic bombing had on the most vulnerable. Fumiyo Kôno examines this question in her outstanding book—an award-winning, widely-discussed masterpiece!

This manga has won two awards, the 2004 Japan Media Arts Festival's Grand Prize for manga and the 2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize's Creative Award.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou by Hitoshi Ashinano

This is the story of Alpha Hasseno, an Alpha 7 M2 series robot. Left by her owner, she appears and acts fully human while running a small coffee shop named Cafe Alpha. It is a light-hearted story about the people Alpha comes into contact with behind the backdrop of a futuristic country-side in Japan. As we meet Alpha, she makes a shopping trip to Yokohama.

The Yellow Book by Fumiko Takano

Published by Kodansha in 2002 and awarded the prestigious Tezuka Cultural Prize, Fumiko Takano’s The Yellow Book is one of those rare works which you enjoy reading in order to feel the tender familiarity that arises between the protagonists and yourself. This collected volume was named after the longest of the four stories that it contains: a drama about an adolescent girl who falls in love with Roger Martin du Gard’s saga, Les Thibault. The remaining stories capture various fragments of everyday life with tenderness and humor. Through the kaleidoscope of its feminine views, The Yellow Book touches the readers heart by attending to what, in sum, makes up life—the little things of our every day.

Mushishi by Yuki Urushibara (Licensed)

Shortly after life emerged from the primordial ooze, deadly creatures - mushi - came into terrifying being. They still exist and wreak havoc in the world today. One man with a sardonic smile has the knowledge and skill to save those plagued by mushi.

Mushishi won an Excellence Prize at the 2003 Japan Media Arts Festival and the 2006 Kodansha Manga Award.

Waters by Yuki Urushibara

The fantasy-themed story centers on a middle school student on the swim team during a mysterious summer vacation.

While training at school during a drought a young girl faints from heat exhaustion. She instantly finds herself in the country side by a cool, clear river. Every time she falls asleep she is drawn deeper into this alternate setting.

Wandering Son by Takako Shimura (Licensed)

Shuichi Nitori is a 5th grade student who likes to bake and has always been something of a feminine boy. When he transfers to a new school, Shuichi is mistaken for his 6th grade sister on his first day. Then he ends up sitting next to Yoshino Takatsuki, a tall, boyish girl who everyone calls “Takatsuki-kun.” They both have secrets they can’t let anyone know….

Sweet Blue Flowers by Takako Shimura

Fumi and Akira were best friends when they were little, with Akira always looking after the crybaby Fumi, but that all ended when Fumi's family moved away. Several years later, Fumi's family returned, and she and Akira happened to bump into each other on their way to school. They became friends again, quickly slipping back into old patterns. Shortly after, Fumi began dating a cool, attractive upperclassman who, coincidentally enough, had ties to Akira's current school, the prestigious Fujigaya Girls' Academy.

Saturn Apartments by Hisae Iwaoka (Licensed)

Far in the future, humankind has evacuated the Earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the Earth, thirty-five kilometers up in the sky. The society of the ring is highly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated junior high. When his father disappears and is assumed dead, Mitsu must take on his father's occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu's job treats him to an outsider's view into the various living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.

National Quiz by Shinkichi Katou and Reiichi Sugimoto

In a different world than the one we live in, a world where Japan is the lone superpower of the world, there is a wildly popular game show called the National Quiz. Every night, people dreaming of riches, fame, vengeance, and happiness compete on the show, for the chance to be granted a wish, any wish they have: the National Quiz has the power to make your wildest dreams come true. It also has the ability, if you lose, to make your life a living hell.

This is the story of K-i K-ichi (aka prisoner KK47331), a former actor-turned losing National Quiz contestant-turned wildly popular host of the show, and the people and events surrounding him.

Ranman by Shinkichi Katou

This book is a series of many many very short pieces, usually between 2-4 pages in length. They vary wildly in mood, character and art style, and the detail is often stunning.

Baka & Gogh by Shinkichi Katou

Sakai and Shoji are two idiots. Their band, Moozmuz, is eccentric, flamboyant and silly. Gogh, their classmate, is a quiet but intense clothes designer. Watch the friendship between these three artists blossom and suffer, rendered in Shinkichi Kato's vibrant, lively art. The two volumes also contain a pair of one-shots each.

The Music of Marie by Usamaru Furuya

A fantasy epic of truly magnificent scale with gorgeous illustrations. In just two volumes, the author manages to create an incredibly rich and fascinating world that is full of wonders and enchanting beauties. A world in which men are watched over by the mechanical goddess Marie who at times appears on the sky. Marie's music brings people happiness and harmony. Their life is free from advanced technology and the longing for progress. The main story centers around Kai, a young man who develops a deep affection for Marie. His quest for enlightenment leads him inside Marie's mechanical body where he learns the unbelievable truth about her and his own world.

Plastic Girl by Usamaru Furuya

"My eyes were covered by Daddy so I wouldn't know the way. My mouth was gagged and my ears were plugged by Mommy so I would hear and speak no evil. Daddy forbade me from smiling so I wouldn't have dreams and hopes. Mommy spawned me...so I would bear all her sins."

Let's talk about girlhood with Mr. Furuya in 21 chapters.

Short Cuts by Usamaru Furuya (Licensed)

So just what is with this fascination for the Japanese teenage girl? We're talking about that extreme variant of her--that highly evolved creature of Japan's frantically trendy consumer culture...the ko-gal. Short Cuts is a unique and surreal Japanese comic strip that provides an illustrated journey into the ko-gal's world, created by Usamaru Furuya, one of Japan's most highly esteemed avant-garde comic artists.

Dante's Divine Comedy by Go Nagai

Manga adaptation of Dante Alighieri's classic work "The Divine Comedy".

Helter Skelter by Kyoko Okazaki

Through round after round of extensive plastic surgery and vigorous maintenance, Ririko has become the absolute manifestation of beauty, and becomes a wildly successful model, actress, and singer. However, soon, her body, unable to withstand the burdens of surgery, begins to crumble, and along with it so does her mind, as she plummets towards a frightening and inevitable end.

Helter Skelter won the 2003 excellence prize at the Japanese Media Arts Festival, and the 2004 Osamu Tezuka Culture Prize.

Secret Comics Japan (Licensed)

An anthology of all-new underground comics from Japan produced in the '80s and '90s by the latest generation of taboo-breaking manga artists! Selected by the former editor of Garo, Japan's standard-bearer of underground comics since 1964, this collection introduces new artists who have not been discussed in the previous literature on the field (such as Manga! Manga!, Dreamland Japan, and Comix Underground Japan). From the surreally beautiful to the graphically gruesome, this book will be of interest to all fans of cutting-edge art and comics.

Dance! Kremlin Palace by Shintaro Kago

A very surreal, episodic manga about Russia. This entire manga is very NSFW, so beware. It contains nudity, violence, and bad taste. Read at your own risk.

Uzumaki by Junji Itou (Licensed)

Kurôzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways: seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air. And in large ways: the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurôzu-cho are pulled ever deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return...

Inu wo Kau by Jiro Taniguchi

Five short stories. The first one tells the death of an old dog, hence the title. The last one is a bit similar to a later work of the author, Kamigami no Itadaki.

Haruka na Machi e by Jiro Taniguchi (Licensed)

On his way back from a business trip, the protagonist decides on a whim to take a train back to his old hometown. The moment he pays respects to his mother's grave in the transformed town, he is transported back to a summer when he was still in junior high school, only with all his middle-age consciousness, knowledge and abilities intact.
On this journey across time, he understands for the first time the burdens born by his father, and his mother's tears. This is the kind of fantasy manga were made for, executed by an artist of great talent. This is a serious, delicate, and ultimately moving time travel variation.

Bakune Young by Toyokazu Matsunaga (Licensed)

It started with a brutal beating at a pachinko parlor, and now Bakune Young-maniac, moron or mastermind -- has taken Japan's biggest crime boss as a hostage as Step One of his plan to rule the world! Soon, yakuza, police, hapless detectives and Bakune's former gym teacher collide as Bakune holes up with his hostage in Osaka Castle, and the manly men of the Japanese mob vow to do anything to rescue their boss! Can Russian-roulette-playing police chief Sorigami salvage the situation with his highly trained army of human robots? Will Johnson Membodeath, the ninja, stop the madness by killing everyone in sight? Savage satire of the action-violence manga genre!

Ryuuguuden by Toyokazu Matsunaga

Two brothers wearing bunnysuits hop on a phallic train and travel to a mysterious underwater brothel.

Sleeping Planet by Youkihi

NAGAI Junpei, a high school freshman, wakes up one day to find all of humanity in a deep sleep. In a free world, overflowing with desires, his strange survival days begin.

 

[flawfuls]

Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya (Licensed)

The son of a famous pianist, music student Shinichi Chiaki dreams of studying abroad and becoming a conductor like his mentor. Unfortunately, his fear of flying grounds his lofty plans! As he watches other classmates achieve what he has always wanted, Shinichi wonders if he should quit music altogether.
Then one day he meets fellow student Megumi Noda, also known as Nodame. This oddball girl cannot cook, clean, or even read a music score, but she can play the piano in incomparable Cantabile style. And she teaches Chiaki something that he has forgotten: to enjoy his music, no matter where he is.

Nodame Cantabile received the 2004 Kodansha Manga Award for shoujo manga, and was a jury recommendation at both the 2005 and 2008 Japan Media Arts Festivals. It was a finalist for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2005 and 2006, but did not win

Usagi Drop by Yumi Unita (Licensed)

Going home for his grandfather’s funeral, thirty-year-old bachelor Daikichi is floored to discover that the old man had an illegitimate child with a younger lover! The rest of his family is equally shocked and embarrassed by this surprise development, and not one of them wants anything to do with the silent little girl, Rin. In a fit of angry spontaneity, Daikichi decides to take her in himself! But will living with this overgrown teenager of man help Rin come out of her shell? And hang on, won’t this turn of events spell doom for Daikichi’s love life?!

Living Game by Mochiru Hoshisato

A romantic comedy about Fuwa, a guy living in a small apartment in overcrowded Tokyo, who wants to have a place of his own. Because of a building accident in their new office building, Fuwa's company (5 employees) had to move into his apartment, right after he had moved to a larger place. And the new employee (Hiyama Izumi, a 15 year-old girl) had to move into Fuwa's place, as she had just come from the country. Then Fuwa's old girlfriend Tokiko, who had already gotten married, ran away from her husband and came to Fuwa's place.

Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan by Mizu Sahara

A pianist who attempted suicide 3 times, Juri, is taken to help her aunt at a prison where murderers who killed indiscriminately are sentenced to death. There, she meets a man named Yuu who took the lives of 3 people. A mother's antagonism--a brother's death... Together they embrace the violent rebellion in their hearts caused by the large, deep scars they carry. However, before long, they both embrace an earnest hope in their hearts. "I want to live"...

An adaptation of a novel by South Korea's most popular female novelist, Gong Ji-Young.

G Senjou Heaven's Door by Yoko Nihonbashi

It is the story of two boys, Machizo and Tetsuo, who create manga together.

Machizo's father is a successful mangaka (manga artist). Machizo feels he's living under his father's shadow, and resents his father's success.

Tetsuo, who is at school with Machizo, enjoys drawing manga and is good at it. His favorite mangaka happens to be Machizo's father. The two boys strike up an alliance to draw a successful manga to win a contest, with Machizo writing the story and Tetsuo drawing the graphics. An important part is also played by a violent girl named Kimiko, who has a crush on Tetsuo.

Shoujo Fight by Yoko Nihonbashi

The story follows the women's volleyball team from a certain high school, especially one girl's fight to become the best.

Believers by Naoki Yamamoto

Three members of a modern-day Japanese cult who are taking part in a "deserted island" program in which they must work together to purify and refine their spiritual essence and transform themselves into more advanced human beings. Of course, life doesn't usually work that way.

Arigatou by Naoki Yamamoto

A depressing story about how a Japanese family's life goes wrong: an immoral protagonist, her sister who was gang raped before, her alcoholic mother who later devoted her life to a cult, and her father who lost favor with his company... full of sexual content and highly violent.

Kinderbook by Kan Takahama (Licensed)

Very clever, very subtle - even when her words are very direct, Kan Takahama tackles subjects as diverse as suicide pacts, mermaids, making a porno film and bar room chat with a robust yet delicate grace.

Probably the most talented mangaka to have recently emerged from Japan, Kan Takahama's art and story telling will surprise when least expected...

Undercurrent by Tetsuya Toyoda

The manga begins as Kanae Sekiguchi, proprietor of the Tsuki no Yu bathhouse, struggles to reopen her business after the unexplained disappearance of her husband...

Coffe Time by Tetsuya Toyoda

This is a collection of short stories that all involve coffee in some way.

Fukuyadou Honpo by Yayomi Yuchi

Hina, Arare, and Hana are the three sisters of Kyoto’s oldest confectionery shop, Fukuya. Although they each have different personalities, they all take pride in their shop. Fukuyadou-honpo will bring you a taste of the ancient capital, Kyoto, with a shrewd mother, sharp-tongued grandpa, and a host of other characters who bring life to the great city.

Diotima by Kwon Gyo-jung

Diotima is set in 2092, far in the future. This manhwa is considered sci-fi for that. However, the manhwa's plot is "life". The episodes involve lives of captain Namer Joon and her crew onboard the space vessel, Diotima. The plot goes a little further and tries to convey conflicts between Earthians and Moon settlers. There are clearly some mysteries about Namer Joon, Diotima, and its creators.

Welcome to the NHK by Tatsuhiko Takimoto and Kenji Ooiwa (Licensed)

Sato Tatsuhiro is a drug-addled "hikikomori" (a Japanese shut-in) who thinks a sinister organization, NHK (Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai), is the cause of all his problems! He falls in love with a girl, Misaki, who he thinks is trying to assassinate him, but doesn't know how to talk to her or if he can trust her. The more he stays in his house watching anime porn, reading manga, and doing drugs, the harder it is for him to leave. Only Misaki can keep him from rotting away in his own apartment!

March Comes in Like a Lion by Chica Umino

Kiriyama Rei is a 17 year old professional shogi player and very good at it, but in real life, he has nothing. Quiet and not very social, Rei has no family, no friends, and he doesn't go to school. He is acquainted with a neighboring woman named Akari who is single-handedly raising her two younger sisters, Momo and Hinata. It's life-ish seinen, with strong monologues and reflections by Rei.

Nominated for the 2nd Manga Taisho Award (2009).

Honeymoon Salad/Baby Leaf by Hikaru Ninomiya

His ex-workers keep calling for help; his memory of his first love is traumatic to say the least, he hates his father so much that he’ll never go back home, a stranger blames him for pushing her down the stairs… no wonder being pissed is a daily routine for Natsukawa Minori. Then enters not one, but two women in his life that will make him too busy to be pissed.

Piano no Mori: The Perfect World of Kai by Makoto Isshiki

A tranquil tale about two boys from very different upbringings. On one hand you have Kai, born as the son of a prostitute, who's been playing the abandoned piano in the forest near his home ever since he was young. And on the other you have Syuhei, practically breast-fed by the piano as the son of a family of prestigious pianists. Yet it is their common bond with the piano that eventually intertwines their paths in life.

Sakuran by Moyoko Anno

A poor peasant girl was sold to a brothel in Edo. Her new life started from the day when she had her first full bowl of rice. After many struggles, she became a cultivated oiran. While her beauty never failed, her hope for freedom faded with the passing seasons. Yoshiwara of Edo was a man's heaven, but a woman's hell: all was sakuran.

Hataraki Man by Moyoko Anno

This is a set of one-shot stories of working people drawn from the viewpoint of Matsukata Hiroko, who is a 28-year-old single woman and is an editor of Weekly Magazine, JIDAI. She’s often at odds with Tanaka Kunio, a novice editor. Her work already stresses her out and he’s unapologetic about his own mistakes! Everyone refers to Hiroko as a masculine woman for how seriously she takes her work. She smokes too much, works too much, and never has sex. However, when it’s time to get a story done, she switches into “Working Man” mode where her testosterone in her blood increases, she works three times her normal speed, and all thoughts of life’s necessities disappear.

Onani Master Kurosawa by Katsura Ise

Onani means masturbation. And that's what this guy is good at. Every day after school, he sneaks into the mostly unused girls bathroom on the 3rd floor, and masturbates. Until one day when he's caught...

This is a story of mistakes, redemption, and the choices made in between. It contains the worst and best of the human condition.

House of Five Leaves by Natsume Ono (Licensed)

Masterless samurai Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has time and again caused him to be let go by the lords who have employed him. Hungry and desperate, he becomes a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a gang called "Five Leaves." Although disturbed by the gang's sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi's motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he's drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.

Rookies by Masanori Morita

Koichi Kawato is the new Japanese teacher at the ill-famed Futakotamagawa high school, whose baseball club is composed of thugs and bullies who have been suspended for a year from all school competitions, for causing a brawl during an official match. The newly appointed teacher finds that the club members left are only interested in women, smoking and doing nothing until, under Kawato's guidance, they discover a new dream called the Koshien. However, the road to the Koshien is far from easy as many obstacles await them.

Teppu by Moare Oota

Ishidou Natsuo is a gifted girl who can achieve anything she wants in sports. Because of this she is permanently bored, as there aren’t any real challenges to her abilites to make her feel alive. One day she receives an invitation of a merry girl to join her martial arts club. Irritated by her happy expression, Natsuo decides to accept the invitation just as a pretext to beat her up, but she receives a shocking surprise.

All Rounder Meguru by Hiroki Endo

Meguru joins a mixed martial arts gym hoping to become stronger.
He meets an old childhood friend who is practicing the same kind of shooto martial arts, and who harbors a dark secret related to their past.

Endo Short Stories by Hiroki Endo (Licensed)

This collection is an amalgamation of work reflecting Hiroki Endo's philosophy and his outstanding ability to draw and to tell stories.

Noramimi by Kazuo Hara

In the world of Noramimi, families frequently have "mascots." Funny characters that live with the family and acts as companions to the children until they grow older. Noramimi is one such mascot. Unfortunately for him, he's of an ogre (well everyone else thinks he's a monk) type and not popular, so he's doing his "home stay" with Hello Kids, an agency that sets up mascots with families. He really wishes a family would adopt him though...

Moyashimon by Masayuki Ishikawa (Licensed)

Tadayasu Sawaki is a young man with a very strange ability: he can talk with bacteria/microscopic beings. He enrolls at Tokyo Agriculture College, where people seem to be just as abnormal as he is...

Octave by Haru Akiyama

When she was young, Yukino Miyashita wanted, more than anything else to become an idol. After accomplishing her dream, however, the idol group she was part of failed to sell, and she returned to school, facing alienation from her peers. Now, at age 18, Yukino is living alone in Tokyo, half-heartedly trying to start a new life as a talent manager, while not quite able to put her idol days behind her. She meets Setsuko, a songwriter who also once belonged to a failed idol group. The romance sparked by her encounter with Setsuko causes Yukino to reevaluate her own life.

Ciguatera by Minoru Furuya

The title came from food poisoning caused by ciguatoxin, a toxin present in many microorganisms living in tropical waters, often accumulated all the way to the top of the food chain through biomagnification. The author used this title to symbolize the lives of his characters are undergoing a slow but accumulating form of self-inflicted poisoning.

Himizu by Minoru Furuya

Every day in Japan, 2500 people die due to any number of causes. Do you think you'll be one of the ones to die? No, of course not. Do you think you'll win the lottery? You'd like to think so, we all would. But Sumida is different. He wants to remain the status quo in every way. Live a normal life, get a normal job, have normal kids, never to be anyone fortunate or unfortunate, content in normalcy. Anyone who doesn't agree is foolish, doomed to live their life scraping up a mountain that they can never conquer, fated to die in despair wishing things had been better.

When his mother kicks his father out of the house and onto the streets, he thinks he'll be fine. When his mother leaves him to live with her boyfriend, he makes the best of it. When he realizes that he's no longer average, he strives to make his life worthwhile the only way he knows how. When the demons in the back of his mind speak to him, he tries his best to ignore them.

Ohikkoshi by Hiroaki Samura (Licensed)

These stories are told with the same bold, kinetic art style and brilliantly paced storytelling that Samura's Blade of the Immortal epic is famous for. The main offering, "Ohikkoshi," follows the turbulent paths of several twenty-something art students as they fall in love, fall in lust, play in rock bands, ride motorbikes, eat, sleep (together), and try to avoid making life decisions while drunk. This romantic comedy is a "Japanese art school confidential" packed with absurd humor, obscure death metal references, and some expertly placed, dramatic revelations. "Luncheon of Tears Diary" is a vibrant, genre-busting tale that also peppers its humor with sharp, dramatic moments. Natsumi Funabashi, a virgin, is an aspiring manga creator on a quest for love and a fulfilling career. Along the way, she has to cope with overzealous men, gang warfare, a mahjong addiction, and a lascivious manga editor. This collection is rounded off by Samura's hilarious "Kyoto Super Barhopping Journal: Bloodbath at Midorogaike," a rare, autobiographical travel piece.

Bradherley's Coach by Hiroaki Samura

Every year, Lord Nicola A. Bradherley, one of Europe’s leading aristocrats, sends his coach round to various orphanges to adopt little girls and trains them to join his opera troupe. But most of these girls never make it onto the stage — a far more sinister fate awaits them, sacrificed in the name of the greater good.

 

[datruth29]

This is a thread of awesome. I approve.

 

[Blackhead]

bookmarked

 

[Vox-Pop]

No K-On!

And anything by Inio Asano is <3 <3


EDITL great list, Coffee Time sounds awesome.

 

[Dennis]

Good job, OP.

I see that you have included the single best manga ever made. That is good but I am just going to repost it below to make sure people notice it.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou by Hitoshi Ashinano

 

[Kukuk]

Heh, I was wondering if I'd see Aoi Hana here.

I read a few chapters of it, didn't like it as much as the anime. It kind of did away with the innocence the anime had.

Spoiler

What with Fumi having sex with her cousin and all.

 

[Vic]

 

[TheOddOne]

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, I REACHED THE END OF THE POST :lol

Great job OP, was getting back into comics and now you've steered me into Manga.

 

[Atrophis]

20th Century Boys - do yourself a favour and read one of the best comics ever written.

 

[Deadly Monk]

I've read a lot of these but you forgot Eden: It's an endless world!!

I hope more of Shounen GAF check these out...I've always been too lazy to make a thread like this.

 

[Apath]

Amazing.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Wow some of it is so obscure and out there (really he masturbates in the girls bathroom?! lol).


I think another one of the one from IKKI, Afterschool Charisma is quite good.

 

[mysticwhip]

I'm tempted to try some but the art is so bad for most of them and the cover art is so misleading.
Is planetes art on the same level as the cover art?

 

[DoornicK]

Great thread! Some of the best manga is listed here. I recommend all the Urasawa Naoki mangas, he's my favourity author (Monster and 20th Century Boys especially).

 

[Scribble]

Best manga thread on the internet.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Great thread. One thing I'd point out is that Planetes is no longer licensed, per se - the license was revoked from Tokyopop and it is now out of print. Best of luck to anyone looking for the english printed volumes; your best bet is Amazon or eBay...

 

[Elfforkusu]

Throwing one in the hat: Kenji.

 

[upandaway]

Found Rookies! I was about to suggest it if you hadn't put it there.

 

[DrForester]

Time for the Shoujo Defense Force


Basara (licensed, Fully released)

from wiki:

The story takes place in a future Japan, reduced to a barren desert by a catastrophe at the end of the 21st century. The main character is Sarasa, a girl whose twin brother, Tatara, is prophesied to be the "child of destiny" who will bring back the country's independence and stop the tyrannical rule of the Empire, namely the Red King. When Tatara is killed, Sarasa pretends to be him in order to keep the downtrodden from losing hope.

While not disguised as her brother she meets a mysterious man and the two begin to develop feelings for each other. Unknown to her, he is the Red King, who killed her brother, and unknown to him, she is the leader of the rebel faction that aims to destroy him.

Kodomo no Omocha (licensed, fully released)

Sana Kurata has a charmed life. Not only is her mother is a famous, award-winning writer, but she's the star of the hit TV comedy "Child's Toy" while still in the fifth grade. But Sana's biggest concern is Akito Hayama, a pint-sized hellion who's organized the boys in their grade-school class into a mass of unending noise and violence. With the help of Rei, her manager, chauffeur and "pimp," Sana is determined to win back control of the classroom from her new arch-enemy. But as her crusade continues, Sana moves further into Akito's life, and finds that he might not be entirely bad...or entirely safe.

Kare Kano (licensed, Fully released)

Yukino Miyazawa is a Japanese high school freshman who is the envy of classmates for her good grades and immaculate appearance. However, her "perfect" exterior is a façade, a charade she maintains to win praise. In the privacy of her own home, she is spoiled, stubborn, a slob, and studies relentlessly and obsessively to maintain her grades. On entering high school, she is knocked from her position at the top of the class by Soichiro Arima, a handsome young man whose very existence Yukino considers a threat to the praise on which she thrives, and she vows to destroy him. When Soichiro confesses that he has a crush on her, Yukino rejects him then boasts about it at home. Her observant little sister Kano points out that her rivalry with him comes from admiration, causing her to rethink her own feelings.

 

[Giard]

20th Century Boys - do yourself a favour and read one of the best comics ever written.

+1.

My favorite manga, alongside Vagabond which you also included in your post!

Great OP, will take the time to read it all in detail.

 

[Lafiel]

Great thread. Anyone who considers themselves a manga fan needs to read nausicaa and anything by "Yoshihiro Tatsumi" and of course "Lone wolf and cub"

Great thread. One thing I'd point out is that Planetes is no longer licensed, per se - the license was revoked from Tokyopop and it is now out of print. Best of luck to anyone looking for the english printed volumes; your best bet is Amazon or eBay...

Or you could check your local library, it's where i managed to read the series.:lol

Edit. The OP forgot eden it's a endless world!

 

[Dennis]

I've read a lot of these but you forgot Eden: It's an endless world!!

I hope more of Shounen GAF check these out...I've always been too lazy to make a thread like this.

Would you believe, I have every book of Eden: It's an endless world, but just haven't had the time to start reading yet.

 

[DrForester]

Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya (Licensed)

Love the manga but the Anime and Live Action have done such a good job adapting the manga that I prefer them, just because you get to hear the music.

 

[Joule]

Heh, I was wondering if I'd see Aoi Hana here.

I read a few chapters of it, didn't like it as much as the anime. It kind of did away with the innocence the anime had.

Spoiler

What with Fumi having sex with her cousin and all.

Wasn't that also pretty much implied in the anime as well?

Good listings. It even has fapnote (Onani Master Kurosawa).

 

[flawfuls]

I added other people's recommendations to the OP. Except K-On.

Great thread. Anyone who considers themselves a manga fan needs to read nausicaa and anything by "Yoshihiro Tatsumi" and of course "Lone wolf and cub"


Or you could check your local library, it's where i managed to read the series.:lol

Edit. The OP forgot eden it's a endless world!

I just wasn't that big of a fan of Eden, but other people seem to so I'll add it to the OP.

 

[Kukuk]

Wasn't that also pretty much implied in the anime as well?

Good listings. It even has fapnote (Onani Master Kurosawa).

Not really. It kind of hints that there is something between her and her cousin, but it doesn't say if it's sexual or schoolgirl love or what.

Also Akira's brother was weirder too, like sneaking into her bed while she's sleeping. :lol

 

[sazabirules]

Are there any recommendations to the manga listed in the OP? It's hard to choose from among all of them.

 

[Servbot #42]

Wow what a great thread, i will read some of these mangas later. nice job flawfuls!

 

[Alucrid]

Where are Bleach and Naruto?

 

[Jangaroo]

If any of you guys only have the time to read just one of the titles here, make sure it's Solanin. I'm not the biggest manga fan around so I tend to be very picky about which ones I read. It's amazing. Go get it now.

Solanin by Inio Asano (Licensed)

Are there any recommendations to the manga listed in the OP? It's hard to choose from among all of them.

See above. It weaves a wonderful tale about living life to the fullest and it's surprisingly relate able.

 

[faridmon]

Not to be an ass or anything, 80% of those Mangas aren't licensed so what is the point of listing them apart for making us hungry?

also some of the titles are questionable. Parasyte is far from great and Rideback is just awful.
also, you forgot some great underrated titles like Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, Ikugami and Solanin.

apart from that perfect thread

 

[flawfuls]

Are there any recommendations to the manga listed in the OP? It's hard to choose from among all of them.

I think a good place to start would be with Inio Asano or Urasawa Naoki's manga.

My own top ten would be:
1) Japan Tengu Party Illustrated
2) Goodnight Punpun
3) Witches
4) Children of the Sea
5) Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms
6) Nijigahara Holograph
7) Solanin
8) Tekkonkinkreet
9) Ping Pong
10) Monster

 

[Apath]

If any of you guys only have the time to read just one of the titles here, make sure it's Solanin. I'm not the biggest manga fan around so I tend to be very picky about which ones I read. It's amazing. Go get it now.

Just ordered that one today Along with Sanctuary and FLCL. They had Azumanga Daioh (complete collection) for $2.99, but they were OOS ;_;

 

[Jex]

You have read a pretty absurd amount of manga, therefore I assume you have good taste (because after reading loads you develop taste maybe? I guess I have no factual reason) so I shall bookmark this thread.

This is also a pretty sweet thread (in general).

 

[Dennis]

Are there any recommendations to the manga listed in the OP? It's hard to choose from among all of them.

Well, I don't have time to write a long list but here is my Top 3

1. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

2. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

3. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

 

[Jet Grind Radio!]

Subscribed!

Also, I recommend Not Simple.

Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian's experiences in a novel: not simple. A story within a story, a book within a book, a tale about the search for family, for an emotional home.

Shit'll leave you depressed when you finish it.

 

[Ceebs]

The only thing I can think to add is Gokusen. It may not be great, but I enjoyed it a ton.

 

[flawfuls]

Not to be an ass or anything, 80% of those Mangas aren't licensed so what is the point of listing them apart for making us hungry?

also some of the titles are questionable. Parasyte is far from great and Rideback is just awful.
also, you forgot some great underrated titles like Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, Ikugami and Solanin.

apart from that perfect thread

Well for all of them at least a scanlation is available. Also Solanin is on there and I haven't read Zetsubo Sensei (I can't have read everything), but yeah I forgot about Inugami.

 

[NeoForte]

Well, I don't have time to write a long list but here is my Top 3

1. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

2. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

3. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

This man speaks the truth! Such a beautiful manga~

Also no Yotsuba&! ?!

 

[Snaku]

And no Guyver. That shit gets overlooked even in the overlooked manga thread!

 

[speedpop]

I am speedpop and I endorse this thread.

 

[Forkball]

Promote this man.

 

[Dresden]

Great topic!

It's weird how I've read almost everything in posts #2 and #4, but almost nothing in posts #1 and #3.

 

[bjork]

I see Rookies and Himizu, but needs Rokudenashi Blues, Crows, and Worst. More guys with pipes and stuff, plz

 

[sazabirules]

Well I'll look into some of the ones you guys recommended. I've already read Monster by Urasawa so I'll probably look into his other works as well.

 

[Kamaki]

Wow, one of the best threads in a long while! Fantastic job!

I've already got a list of 200 manga series I was going to read and buy and you've just doubled it, I hope you're happy. :lol

 

[Mumei]

Wow.

Great topic.